A Study on Weld Bead Profile Measurement System for Use in Automatic Weld Bead Removal System

Automatic weld bead removal system is consisted of bead removal tool, bead profile measurement system and tool motion control system. In this paper, design of weld bead profile measurement system which is used for automatic weld bead removal system is described. The system measures the weld bead position, normal vector of the auto-body and weld bead profile. The optical sensor with structured laser beam is used as a sensor and comparison of the sensor that can be used for this purpose is discussed in detail. The measurement process and the related software developed for this purpose are also described. A median filter, average filter and long line filters are used and their effects in bead profile measurement are discussed. The measurement system is integrated into automatic bead removal system and is used to remove weld bead in rear pillar of automotive body. The whole system operates well in automotive body assembly line and thus the system is proved to be good for this purpose.